Okay, from what I've seen, green tea should not have boiling water poured on them, but I see a lot of packages at the store that say to bring water to a boil.

Now I know loose leaf tea is better than tea bags, but I've found that I have an easier time making a gallon of lipton or luizane green tea than I do from leaves as I can make more mistakes (when trying to find the best way to brew it for my tastes) with the big brand tea bags since they are so cheap. Any idea why they say bring the water to a rolling boil, and should I bring it to a boil or get water to about the 180 degree mark?

If you use boil water, pour water in a porcelain container, and throw the tea into the water instead of pouring water on tea, the brewing temperature is probably already 10-15 degrees (F) lower than boiling. If you use an open top vessel, the tea will get a heat shock to thoroughly release its flavor, but won't be "steamed" because the steam and heat escape the container very fast. As Edkrueger said, some tea would like to be treated that way. Sometimes people are shocked of temperatures used by each other because they have different brewing vessels and brewing methods in minds

I've been on tea chat too long to be shocked - my reaction was more mild surprise and curiosity. The only Chinese green I have in the house right now is Tai Mu Lu Xie Ya, which I've been unable to brew to my satisfaction. So today I put the boiling water in a small porcelain teapot, tossed the leaves on top, watched and waited. After a few seconds, maybe 5, when the leaves were all wet, I poured the tea into a waiting cup and enjoyed a mild tasty brew. I brewed the subsequent infusions at 195° and was quite pleased with the outcome.

I think boiling water gives you a uniform temp to work with traditionally. It is then cooled to the appropriate temp from there. In the case of Japanese teas boiling water is poured into the vessels and cups and back into the pot to brew the tea, giving you an appropriate temp to brew the tea.

Thermometers and variable temp kettles are a relatively new development to tea, which has been drank for thousands and thousands of years...

Water temperature changes tea's flavor If you use high temperature, like boiling temperature, it makes tea more bitter/astringency and stronger aroma. On the other hand, if you use low temperature, such as 175F or 140F, it makes tea more sweet/mild but less aroma. That's why the ideal temperature varies depending on tea's characteristics.

For example, Genmaicha has nice nutty aroma but doesn't have much bitter taste, so many tea companies recommend to use boiling water. On the other hand, Sencha, which has a lot of astringency, is recommended to be brewed with lower temperature.

You also need to find your preference. You may like to brew Sencha with boiling water if you like the bitterness of tea. It's OK not to follow the brewing instruction on a package

Teacup1980 wrote:Water temperature changes tea's flavor If you use high temperature, like boiling temperature, it makes tea more bitter/astringency and stronger aroma.

High grade green teas don't bring much bitterness, so you can use boiling water for a full flavor extraction. At least that's what I have been told. It seems to work though. But for a basic green tea, I would definitvely consider 80°C.